Retired rugby referee great Nigel Owens has shared a homophobic letter he received at his home in Wales telling him he should be "ashamed" for being gay.
Owens, who retired from international rugby in 2020 after officiating 100 Tests and is openly gay, shared the letter on social media this morning although he conceded he'd been in possession of it for a while.
"I’ve thought long and hard about posting this letter I received in the post a few weeks ago signed by a steel worker," Owens wrote.
"But unless we start calling out these kind of people nothing will change. It hurts and there is no need for all this hate."
The handwritten letter was signed off by "Steel Worker PT".
"The Bible says 'Man shall not lie with man nor women with woman, it's an abomination'," the letter started.
"'Nor should men dress in women's clothing, nor women with men's, ' What do you think AIDS is'?
"It is god's punishment to the sodomites. Forget that people pretend to accept you because they don't."
The letter also called out former Wales captain Gareth Thomas who revealed his homosexuality in 2009 before confirming he was HIV positive 10 years later.
"[Thomas'] team mates think he is disgusting. He too is being punished by God," the letter said.
The writer showed their racist side too, slamming Owens for buying a foreign vehicle which used "foreign steel" while referencing "the Japs".
Owens received plenty of support following his post with rugby greats such as Shane Williams, Jerome Kaino and Matt Dawson all reaching out to him.
In fact, Thomas himself responded to Owens' post telling him that the supposed steel worker was "a serial writer butt".
"He writes those kinds of letters to everyone, good on you for calling him out," Thomas said.
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